6 Ways to Find Money for your Home Improvement Ideas

1. Save Money for your Home Improvement Ideas:

Even homes that are newly constructed have blemishes that are in need of repair. Whether your dwelling is new or old, you may feel like you want to rush into the repairs without giving much thought as to how you’ll actually pay for them. But before you begin to cross the jobs off your to-do checklist, you want to put money away for the projects. When you receive your paycheck, set up a transfer that automatically places the money into your home savings account. After you’ve paid your bills, any money left over in your checking can also be placed into your savings, before you have time to spend it.

2. Home Improvement Grants Could Help:

Consider applying for home improvement grants offered by the government or your local city. Tax season is an excellent time of year to use your money from a sizeable income tax refund, have the IRS automatically put the money into your savings account. Then when you’re ready to make household repairs, you’ll have the funds available. Focus on the much-needed repairs first. Since the exterior of your dwelling is at the mercy of Mother Nature, you want to focus on the roof, siding, and foundation. Vinyl siding for the home is a versatile and maintenance-free choice. Because it can withstand the elements, it’s also more durable and cost-effective than other varieties. Money from your tax refund can also go to repair missing roof shingles or leaks or help with a bathroom renovation in the future.

3. Qualifying Tax Breaks for Home Repairs:

Certain home improvement ideas and projects could also qualify you for additional credits or tax deductions when you go to file your next return. If you’ve taken out a home equity line of credit or home improvement loan, you could deduct the interest. If your home renovation upgrades are needed for a disabled resident such as to widen doorways or add on ramps to the exterior, you could qualify for medical tax deductions. Energy.gov also has a list of energy efficient tax credits such as a biomass stove, heat pumps, appliances, and Energy Star windows.

4. Consider a Home Improvement Loan:

Have you considered a home improvement loan? Your home improvement ideas could change from a dream to a reality if you borrow the funds to update your home.  A loan could help you make repairs that you normally couldn’t afford. This is especially important for fixes that just can’t be put off. For those with good credit, you may want to try a credit card with promotional offers. These include no financing for a year to 18 months. You may also be able to qualify for a low-interest rate on a personal loan. Before you commit, you want to crunch the numbers to ensure you can afford the payments that come with the borrowed money.

5. Do Your Research for your Home Improvement Projects:

Once you’ve secured the money for your upcoming home improvement projects, you want to research the materials. Prices vary from store to store. Make a list of the necessary items you need and see if the store can offer additional discounts. If you purchase everything from one location, you may qualify for added price breaks.

6. Consider Hiring a Contractor or DIY for Less:

Certain projects painting, power washing, deck staining and caulking are simple fixes you can DIY. If you have jobs that only the expert can tackle, get several bids before hiring a contractor. You can also check online reviews or referrals from friends and family members for reputable recommendations.

Maintaining a dwelling is one of the most important duties of a homeowner. But in order to do it right, you need the necessary funds. With the above saving options, you’ll be able to take pride in your house while staying out of debt.

For more home improvement ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

The Best Photography Tips for Decorating your Walls

One of the Best Photography Tips: Add context

Without some context, your photo will not have any depth. You should position your subjects to the right or left of your frame and show a little of what they are doing. You can also add context by shooting your subjects in their environments such as around people or trees.

Lose the Flash for Good Photos of your Home

A flash is a dead giveaway that you are taking a photo, which ruins the moment. If you want to go unseen, you need to raise your camera ISO and widen your aperture. If you’re using a phone camera consider opening window treatments, or using a lighting kit with a white light rather than incandescent yellow light. This will enable you to take photos that are well exposed in low light areas such as the indoors. For more photography tips for your home take a look at these tips.

An ISO of around 400 is great and you can enlarge the aperture as much as you need to. This creates a shallow depth of field for the photo, making your subjects the focus of the picture instead of their surroundings.

Candid Photos Make for Better Photos

Are you worried about taking photos of people who do not want theirs taken? You should try to shoot from hip height. This will give you an exciting and new perspective on circumstances that you are not used to, which adds to the candidness of the photo.

If you shoot many bad photos from this angle, you should try to use live view for composing a picture first before you shoot. If taking photos of your kids or pets try to get them when they’re comfortable, for example when they’re playing or running around the yard!

The Best Photography Tips occurs when you’re Not Ready!

Make sure you take your camera everywhere, so you’re always prepared. If you want to get the best candid shots, you should start taking your camera everywhere. The best moments usually occur at random times, when you least expect them to happen. When you take your camera out of the house, you will start feeling comfortable photographing strangers.

Move around to Take Beautiful Nature Photos:

When out in nature try to move around your subject to get cool angles and profiles. Nature photos are best when taken with plenty of light but also the photographer is at eye level with the leaf or rock. Remember nature puts on its own show of beautiful photography, it’s your job to capture it to display on your walls!

The Best Way to Display your Photos in your Home

Displaying your photos in your home can be done in a variety of ways. A photo gallery wall in your home is a good way to tell a story about the subjects. Whether it’s a family tree, or a wedding collage. We love these photography gallery wall ideas from Buzzfeed that gathers creative tips for transforming your room.

If you’d like individual photos placed on your walls you should consider acrylic photo blocks. They give your photos a vibrant and lively look that normal mounting does not. Moreover, acrylic prints can withstand UV rays without damage. This makes them great to display in the sunniest of hallways or window walls in your home.

For more DIY ideas and home decor ideas search our archives.

How to Create a Great Outdoor Kitchen this Season

One idea to cheer yourself up considerably is to start thinking about and planning your outdoor barbecue parties. If you love great food and good company, then it’s time to start thinking about your “must have this summer” list and plan-of-action for your outdoor kitchen and bar.

Create an Outdoor Bar to Enjoy Nature

Think of your deck or patio as an extension to your house. Think of it as an “extra room” where you can enjoy warm, balmy days and pleasant evenings with family and friends. After spending so much of your time indoors during the winter, it’s only natural for outdoor decks or patios to become the best place for convivial social gatherings. We love these outdoor bar and kitchen ideas from DIY Network.

However, rather than simply filling up the space with chairs and tables and a modest grill, why not go all out and make it the favorite “room.” Yes, convert your deck or patio into a fully-functioning outdoor kitchen with all the comforts of a den.

Here are 4 outdoor kitchen ideas that go far beyond simply tossing hotdogs and hamburgers on a grill and eating at a wooden picnic table:

1. A Gas BBQ Grill

A built-in bbq gas grill is probably the first thing to think about when it comes to designing a great outdoor kitchen. Think about how many people usually come to your parties when you’re buying a grill. If you get something too small, then you won’t be able to cook all your meat, corn, and potatoes at the same time. It will be difficult to serve uniformly hot food to your family and visitors.

2. A Functional Outdoor Kitchen

There are three things that make a kitchen a functional place for culinary craft: electricity for appliances, plenty of countertop space for food preparation and placement, and refrigeration. There is no reason why you can’t have all three in your outdoor kitchen, too.

Electricity: It will make a huge difference to the quality of your small gatherings to have electricity to plug in your appliances. While you’re waiting for the food to cook on the grill, you could blend up smoothies or use a food processor for fresh salad dressing, meat sauces, and prepare quick and easy recipes. Instead of sitting around feeling hungry as the food heats up in the grill, you could be sampling drinks and appetizers.

Countertops: What’s the most frustrating thing about cooking in a small kitchen? It’s the lack of enough countertop space. So when planning your outdoor kitchen, be sure that you have enough countertop space for preparing your food and placing it after it’s cooked. Things will go a lot smoother if you’ve got all the counter space you need to stay organized.

Refrigeration: Imagine how convenient it will be to have a refrigerator under the countertop. This will save you the bother of running into your kitchen every time you need sauces and veggies. You’ll also be able to serve chilled cans of beer or bottles of wine.

3. A Full Outdoor Bar

If you tend to have many people at your fabulous outdoor parties, then a six-pack of beer or a bottle of wine isn’t going to cut it. You need a wet bar to practice all your mixology skills. It will also make it much easier to have a sink for cleaning up glasses and dishes.

4. An Outdoor Kitchen with Brick Fireplace

If you really want to get cozy, then think about adding an outdoor brick fireplace. After you’ve enjoyed your drinks from the wet bar and eaten a delicious meal, everyone can lounge around the fireplace in comfortable chairs and enjoy the ambiance of firelight.

Naturally, the more area you have available, the more you can do to create a magnificent outdoor kitchen that everyone will love. However, these simple ideas will help you get off to a good start.

For more outdoor kitchen ideas on Stagetecture, visit our outdoor home archives.

The Best Way to Fix a Kitchen Leaky Faucet

The Most Common Causes of Kitchen Plumbing Leaks

The first step is going to be to identify your problem. You will want to clear any items or chemicals from under your sink, so you will have a good view and plenty of work area. A leaky faucet and plumbing leaks can be caused from many sources.

There are a few reasons why you may be seeing water around or under your sink:

• Leaky faucets
• Sink rim leaks
• Loose/Cracked pipes
• Drain leaks
• Supply leaks
• Garbage disposal issues

Identifying and Repairing Your Leaky Faucet

Determine if leaky faucets are the cause:

Many times, this type of leak will be very noticeable. Water standing around the back of the sink is the first clue, but occasionally, the leak will be on the underside of the sink. These leaks are usually caused by worn cartridges, washers, O-rings or valve seats.

The procedure used will depend on the type of faucet you own, but it is normally a quick fix. You may decide to just replace the entire faucet altogether. Before you begin the project, make sure water supply is cut off. It is imperative to remember the order you remove each part, so there is no confusion during reassembly.

Are you having a kitchen sink rim leak?

 These types of leaks can take a while before being noticed. Water will seep under the edge of the sink, remaining undetected. Unfortunately, this can cause significant water damage, including rotten wood and mold growth.

Some things to look out for are missing caulk around the sink, dampness inside the cabinet, loose faucet or damage to laminate countertops. Inspecting the underside of the counter can usually help you pinpoint the spot of the leak. If you are unable to tell, you may squeeze water around the rim of the sink and then inspect for leaks.

Before attempting to rectify the problem, you must inspect your kitchen cabinets. If the damage is too severe, cabinets and/or countertops will need replacing. If there is only slight damage, you should start by making sure the faucet is good and tight. Then, check the sink mounting brackets to make sure they are secure. Lastly, you should remove all old caulking from around faucet and sink rim, then recaulk.

Could your kitchen plumbing issue be loose or cracked pipes?

If you are unsure, the first thing you need to do is find the exact location of the leak. The easiest way to do this is by making sure the pipe is completely dry, then run a small amount of water down the drain, while watching for dripping water.

More often than not, the water will be escaping from a loose joint or connector. This will usually only require tightening with a pipe wrench. If this doesn’t seem to work, you will need to check for blockages next. Some chemicals can do the trick for this, but an auger works even better.

After trying these two steps to no avail, the leak is most likely due to cracks or corrosion in the trap. In this case, P-trap should be removed and replaced.

Kitchen drain leak:

This is pretty easy to diagnose. Just fill the sink and wipe around the drain basket under the sink to check for the presence of water.

The basket is usually held in place by a lock nut that will need to be removed first. Once you have the strainer basket out, you will need to scrape away all the old remaining putty. Then replace the basket with the new one and seal with fresh putty or silicone, depending on your sink requirements. If you still can’t fix the leaky faucet you may need to call a plumbing professional.

Water supply leak detection:

A leaky faucet could be the issue or a water supply leak could also be the problem. Here’s a leak detection trick to try. If one of your supply lines somehow manages to get a hole in it, you will know it immediately. These lines are constantly under high pressure, so if they get punctured water will be spraying from the hole uncontrollably.

If it is a slow leak, you will need to turn on each temperature knob, one at a time, to determine which one of your lines are leaking. Once you find which line is faulty, you will need to remove it. You will unscrew each connecting end with a crescent wrench to unhook the line. It is recommended to place a bucket under your work area to avoid a mess from any remaining water in the lines.

Make sure you remove the old Teflon tape from the connector and replace with 3-4 new layers. You will install the new water supply line just like you removed the old one. Once you are done, turn on each line full pressure, one at a time, making sure there are no longer any leaks.

Kitchen plumbing or garbage disposal problem?

You may find that water pooling under your sink is coming from your garbage disposal. This may be somewhat intimidating, but it can still be a relatively easy fix.

There are four areas where your garbage disposal may spring a leak:

• The dishwasher hose. This is the hose that connects the dishwasher to the garbage disposal.
• The sink flange. This is the area directly under the sink where the disposal connects to the strainer basket area of the sink.
• The drain. The is where the drainage pipe connects to the side of the garbage disposal.
• The bottom of the appliance. You may see water leaking directly from the bottom of the garbage disposal.

To find your leak, you will need to fill your sink with a small amount of water. While it is still plugged, check to see if there is any visible water around disposal. If there is, then you know your issue is with the sink flange. Oftentimes, this can be resolved by unhooking the disposal from the sink, removing old putty, and resealing.

If there is no water present, unplug sink and observe the other areas for seeping water. When the water is coming from the drain or hose, it is usually due to a faulty seal. This is generally an easy fix, depending on your disposal model. The last place you want to see water coming from is the bottom of the disposal. If this occurs, it is your best bet just to replace the entire unit.

For more kitchen and bathroom ideas on Stagetecture, take a look at our archives.

3 Easy Ways to Save Energy with Ducted Air Conditioning

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1. Invest in a smart thermostat to control your air conditioner

First things first, saving energy largely depend on the individuals in your home. If each of members of your home keeps manually turning up and down the indoor temperature your energy bill will always be high. To keep your home comfortable with ducted air conditioning consider investing in a smart thermostat. There are many brands on the market from a Nest thermostat, Honeywell and Lennox are top brands that will learn your family habits such as when you wake up and when you are cooking, and when you leave the house to help you save energy. Help the thermostat learn your habits by taking a week and setting the temperatures to the high and lows of your heating and air conditioning that are comfortable for your family. For more tips on saving energy with a smart thermostat take a look at these top 5 brands of smart thermostats from LifeHacker.

2. Keep your HVAC temperatures comfortable and not extreme

If your house is always an icebox in the summer or a furnace in the winter depending on the season, your HVAC unit is working harder than it needs to. Teach your family members that setting your air conditioner to be comfortable rather than extremes will help save energy. The benefit of ducted air conditioning is the ability to control temperatures in multiple rooms at one time. The downfall of this is your family may think the entire house needs to be ice cold or very hot. This mentality will keep your HVAC unit constantly on and can create your central a/c unit working too hard day and night.

3. Try Pre-cooling with your air conditioning the night before it’s hot

If the forecast is calling for extreme heat the next few days consider pre-cooling your home the night before. This method works best in brick homes or homes that have good insulation and high ceilings. The brick will help retain the coolness of the home and when the heat rises the next day your air conditioning unit won’t need to run as long. This method can also help in the winter time but works in the reverse – try running the heat during the daytime before you will have a cold spell for consecutive days, then at night, you can bank down your ducted air conditioning and heating unit to come on less.

This season give your HVAC unit a break and learn why your ducted air conditioning could be working less this season. From teaching the members of your family to getting your HVAC system serviced regularly by an air conditioning specialist your energy bills will thank you each month.

For more ways to save energy in your home look at these HVAC posts.

How To Enjoy Being Your Own DIY Interior Designer

Create a Home Decor Design Theme

A trick that almost every professional interior designer uses is coming up with a theme at the beginning of the process. The theme helps provide direction and creates cohesion throughout the home so each room flows from one to the next.

If you’re having trouble choosing a home decor design theme turn to the Internet for inspiration. Start a Pinterest board where you can save images of designs you like. After you’ve added a couple dozen images to your design board, look for common themes that they share to find the one that’s right for your home.

Choose Color Palettes that Resonate With your Room Decor

Color is one of the most important design choices you’re going to make. When you’re choosing to be your own interior designer it’s best to come up with color palettes before you start getting into the fine details since hues can influence other design decisions.

• Primary color– This is the main color that’s used in a room, often for the paint and furnishings.
• Secondary color– The secondary color plays off of the primary color to bring out the richness in both. It can either be analogous (within the same color family) or complimentary (a hue from the opposite side of the color wheel).
• Accent color– An accent color is used sparsely to help the other colors pop. That’s why accent colors are usually vibrant or bright.

AN INTERIOR DESIGNER CONSIDERS MATERIALS BEFORE MAKING A SELECTION

The materials that are used are going to impact everything from the textural sensations to longevity. For example, wooden blinds may cost a little more upfront, but they last longer than cheap plastics and add a rich warmth to your room. They can also be customized with various finishes, color matched with existing trim and sized to fit your windows perfectly.

Other spots where material quality really matters are the flooring and furniture. Both of these are unique in that people come in contact with floors and furniture on a daily basis.

INTERIOR DESIGN MUST BE FUNCTIONAL IN NATURE:

Functionality can never be compromised for style. No matter how fabulous a room looks if the design impedes functionality you’ll keep running into problems. One way to ensure functionality is a top priority is to consider your day-to-day lifestyle. For instance, a family with three young children is going to have dramatically different functional needs compared to a retired couple.

THINK LIKE AN INTERIOR DESIGNER WHEN CHOOSING ARTWORK:

Choosing the right artwork is about more than personal preference. Art is extremely personal since it’s interpreted differently by each person. However, that doesn’t mean any piece of art will work in every space.

For one, a piece of art can be the focal point of a room. If the other design elements don’t play off of the artwork it can cause everything to clash.The artwork should also match the theme you’ve selected for your interior design. Always go with artwork that speaks to you, but just make sure it’s not competing with everything else around it.

BALANCE OUT LARGE FURNITURE

There are interior designer ways to decorate with large furniture. An oversized couch or four-poster bed can easily dominate a room, particularly if it isn’t placed properly for the room. Other furniture and design elements will have to be on the same scale in order to balance out big pieces. But be careful – all it takes is a few similarly sized pieces to create balance without cluttering the room.

USE A MIX OF DIFFERENT TEXTURES IN YOUR HOME DECOR

You wouldn’t use the same color for every design element, and the same holds true for texture. If you do use a monochromatic or neutral color scheme, using a mix of textures is even more important.

The texture of the walls, flooring, furniture and other items in the room impacts the visual appearance and textile experience.The texture can be smooth and hard or soft and comfy. Some materials are rough and rugged while others are supple and delicate looking. Texture is pleasing to the touch and the eye, so don’t overlook it when you’re making interior design choices.

AN INTERIOR DESIGNER LIKES TO SPRINKLE IN PERSONAL TOUCHES

To make a house really feel like a home instead of a showroom, you’ll need to incorporate at least a few personal touches. A few family portraits on the mantle or decorative pieces you picked up on a vacation is all it takes to add personality without overwhelming the design theme.